LM Wind Power Bergama wind turbine blade manufacturing site produces 1,111th blade
Turkey-based plant deploys lean management strategies and a diverse workforce to produces two-piece carbon fiber blades for GE’s Onshore Cypress platform as well as wind blades for regional and global wind farms.
LM Wind Power Bergama plant workforce. Photo Credit: LM Wind Power
GE Renewable Energy (Paris, France) announced on June 22 the production of the 1,111th wind turbine blade at its LM Wind Power (Kolding, Denmark) wind turbine blade manufacturing site in Turkey, four years after the start of the production at the new plant in Bergama, İzmir. Devoted to responding to the growing demand for wind energy worldwide, including in Turkey, Europe and Asia, these 1,111 blades are meant to capture the wind for a total capacity of about 1.58 gigawatts (GW).
Inaugurated in July 2017, the Bergama facility — represents a $80 million investment to Turkey — became the fifteenth LM Wind Power factory and the first opened after the company became a GE Renewable Energy business. The construction of the site’s extension started at the end of April 2019, in order to set up the factory to produce the innovative two-pieces carbon fiber blade for GE’s Onshore Cypress turbine platform. Today, GE says the Bergama site counts more than 800 employees, 26% of whom are women, one of LM Wind Power’s leading sites for a diverse workforce.
“We are proud of what the team has achieved at the site since 2017 and we are excited to see the site continuously improving and growing, even more since we implemented the Lean mindset,” says Emre Kahya, Bergama plant director, LM Wind Power. “In our factory, lean is not just a tool, it is a culture shaped by principles, it is a journey. Therefore, lean management is a part of our lives in a wide area, starting from our strategic directions and extend over to our long-term plans and daily management. While focusing on results and behaviors, we improve competencies in problem solving and waste hunting.”
The Bergama factory represents LM Wind Power’s track record of growth in emerging wind markets and its expanding global presence, which strengthens GE Renewable Energy and LM Wind Power’s ability to serve all customers worldwide. The Bergama factory also addresses the needs of the fast-growing Turkish wind industry, providing blades to regional wind farms and creating skilled jobs.
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